Twins Minor League Hitter of July 2014

Earlier in the week, we looked at the long lists of Starting Pitchers and Relief Pitchers in the Minnesota Twins farm system who had strong July performances. Fortunately, there were also a lot of hitters who were up for consideration for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month in July.

It’s fun to review July because it’s the first time that short-season players, many drafted in June, spend their first full month in professional baseball. So, these lists can contain players who are in AAA and been in pro ball for many years or players who have been in pro ball for one month. Let’s get to it. Here are July’s top hitters:

Image courtesy of Brad Rempel

Let's start with a few players who are outside of the Top 5, but certainly warrant mention.Honorable Mention

Kanzler was the Twins 20th round pick in 2013 out of the University of Buffalo where he won a couple of college Gold Glove awards. Though he began the season in extended spring, he was called up to Cedar Rapids quickly. With the Kernels, he took over centerfield and showed the tools that made him an intriguing draft pick. He’s got extra base power that he showed with eight doubles, eight triples and nine home runs in 84 games with the Kernels. He also stole 15 bases. Late in July, he received the promotion to Ft. Myers that he was ready for. He homered in his first at bat. Kanzler is definitely much more than the mustache. He’s got legit athleticism, talent and baseball acumen to continue to rise.

As you recall, Hicks led all of baseball in RBI in 2013. This year it’s been more of a struggle for the 6-5, 250 pound first baseman. His OPS' by month since April have been .720, .696, .616, but he increased that to .913 in July. For the month, his 15 extra base hits were more than the three previous months combined. He has missed time with injury throughout the year, but he is now back to being the run producer in the middle of the Miracle lineup that was expected.

Gonzales was the Twins ninth round pick in 2009 out of Diablo Valley College. At 6-6 and 260 pounds, he had a long swing. A second year in Beloit was very beneficial for him. His career has been slowed, in part, by a medical condition that makes it difficult for him to play full games in Ft. Myers, or in back-to-back games. However, things certainly clicked for him with the Miracle in July. He carried a 19-game hitting streak right up until the day he was promoted to New Britain (July 27). In his second game with the Rock Cats, he was 2-4 with a home run. Gonzales and Hicks combined for a dominant 1B/DH team with the Miracle. Both have tremendous power and profile very similarly.

Murphy was the Twins ninth round pick this year out of Bradley University. He is from Robbinsdale, Minnesota. He signed quite quickly after the draft and reported to Elizabethton where he started to hit immediately. Like Kanzler, Murphy is a good combination of skills, though none of them jump out as great. He is a solid baseball player who has few weaknesses. Before the end of July, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids.

After starting the second straight season as the Minnesota Twins starting centerfielder, and then struggling for two or more months, the Twins decided to option Aaron Hicks to AA New Britain. As expected, he started out quite slowly, but once the calendar turned to July, Aaron Hicks started putting up numbers. He went back to switch-hitting and likely relaxed and found it again. He hit for average, got on base and showed some extra base power. He was playing all three outfield positions and put himself in position for a promotion. On Monday, he was promoted to the Rochester Red Wings where he will attempt to continue doing what he was in New Britain. Hopefully he can put up another terrific month in August in Rochester and spend September in the big leagues.

There you have it. The top five hitters in the Twins system for the month of July. Now it’s time to debate. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss.

----Twins win last night and you do today. Order a large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com using the promo code TWINSWIN and get it for 50% off.

Yeah, it was great to see Hicks do well, and as others have said, will be good to see him do well in Rochester. I think it's wise they're letting him play and succeed. Confidence is such a big part of this game.

As for the large 1B, I don't mind it at all. Vargas is up. Gonzales and Hicks have good power. I don't mind having a few thumpers around.

Wow, I was a little surprised to read this. I'd been following Hicks' numbers and knew that he had a great month (especially the period right before his promotion).

Happy for him and hope to see him be able to translate it to AAA starting tonight. (I figure Tuesday night was a write off since no one on the Red Wings did well against Axelrod although Hicks did get his usual walk.)

Yeah, it was great to see Hicks do well, and as others have said, will be good to see him do well in Rochester. I think it's wise they're letting him play and succeed. Confidence is such a big part of this game.

As for the large 1B, I don't mind it at all. Vargas is up. Gonzales and Hicks have good power. I don't mind having a few thumpers around.

How about small jackrabbits who came close, but no cigar, to qualifying for Honorable Mention?

I know Tanner English was on the DL for most of the month.... but he was back by the end of the month...and in 31 PAs he slashed .296/.387/.481/.869.

Manuel Guzman in GCL slashed .338/.430/.426/.857... in 80 PAs he had 2-2B, 2-3B, 11 BB, 7 SB. Switch hitter and plays 2B/SS. I would like to hear a little more about him to see if he might be a legit prospect or not.

I knew from reading the morning reports that Hicks was doing well at New Britain, but am pleasantly surprised at just how good a month he really had.
Have to temper the enthusiasm though, doesn't mean he's fully turned a corner yet. I think we all get that. But it's very positive just the same!
I'm also pleased to see that he will get an opportunity to play in Rochester for the next month. As someone pointed out recently, apologies for not remembering who, it's not as if Hicks was hitting against dregs at AA, but at Rochester he will face pitchers with at least a little more experience, a little more consistency, and some with ML experience. It's part of his building block, or re-building block, back to fulfillment of his potential. Now, in retrospect, I guess it's a shame they didn't make the move sooner. Demotion I mean. In theory, his June May have been his July and he might be starting his second month of AAA experience.
I still believe that as part of his development/re-development, he should be recalled for September with theTwins this season to finish the season. The option is already spent, he will get to work with Twins coaches again, and it might do wonders to keep his confidence up that is being rebuilt. No promises, and he doesn't necessarily have to play every day, but he needs to come up and see some action.